1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus which can be employed in a variety of embodiments specifically adapted to areas of use where one or more work implements must periodically be adjusted relative to a direction of travel to attitudes suited to the performance of different work operations and more particularly to such an apparatus which can be so adjusted conveniently and expeditiously without disassembly thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the raking of hay, beans and other crops, in the collection of such crops as nuts and in a host of other environments, it is frequently necessary to adjust the work implements of the equipment relative to each other and to the direction of travel for achieving a specific operative result. For example, in the harvesting of hay, the crop after cutting lays in the field for curing or drying prior to being picked up by a hay baler. Depending upon the specific variety of hay crop involved and the prevailing climatic conditions, it is common practice to turn the crop one or more times during the drying process to expose more of the crop for drying, to release the moisture therefrom, and generally to aerate the material as it lays in the field. Such turning is performed by a variety of different raking operations individually suited to the drying conditions. Subsequent to drying, the hay is raked into windrows for retrieval from the field by a hay baler.
Such raking operations are performed by one or more hay rakes arranged in a formation and in attitudes with respect to the direction of travel suited to the specific operation to be performed. However, it has been necessary substantially to modify the formation and attitudes whenever a different type of raking operation is to be performed. Thus, it is necessary where a pair of hay rakes are employed to disconnect the rakes from the tool bar and reposition them relative to each other and to the direction of travel for the specific raking operation to be performed. In other instances, it is necessary to disassemble portions of the rakes themselves and to restructure them so that they are capable of performing the operation desired. Such repositioning and rebuilding is not only tedious and time consuming and therefore expensive, but it is often difficult to perform with the precision and dependability that would be desired since frequently the rakes are not designed for the specific arrangement required.
Similarly, the substantial width of such rakes or formations of rakes interferes with movement along roadways to and from the field. While it is known to rearrange two or more rakes in trailing relation to each other for road transport, such rearrangement is inconvenient, time consuming and cumbersome at best. In other instances the rakes cannot be rearranged therefore prohibiting road travel at least without the creation of a hazardous condition.
Therefore, it has long been known that it would be desirable to have an apparatus having one or more work implements which can be adjusted relative to each other and a direction of travel for the performance of a specific work operation; which can conveniently be adjusted without substantial rearrangement or disassembly of the work implements; which is adaptable to a wide variety of specific work implements; and which can be employed to perform a wide variety of work operations with the work implement thereof so as to eliminate the necessity for maintaining more than one such apparatus.